Currently available in the marketplace, there are a variety of designs for flip-top closures as well as numerous applications for such closures. Such flip-top closures are used to facilitate dispensing of a variety of different products. One drawback associated with currently available flip-top closures is that they can be easily opened by a child and the contents, contained within the container, can be readily dispensed by the child opening the flip-top closure. Depending upon the contents of the container, if the contents of the container are hazardous and if the child were to contact such hazardous contents with his or her eyes or were in ingest the same, the child could be injured, poisoned, or possibly be killed.
The United States Government recently pass the Poison Prevention Packaging Act and this legislation will become effective in October of 2002. As a result of this legislation, if a flip-top closure is to be used for dispensing either a chemical or a cosmetic product, it will be necessary for the flip-top closure to have a child resistant packaging feature.
According to government regulations, a child resistant package is one that is designed or constructed to be significantly difficult for children under five to open or obtain a harmful amount of the contents of the child resistant package within a reasonable time. In addition, the child resistant package must also not be too difficult for a “normal” adult to use properly and dispense product therefrom.